nights ago. >> it freaks me out. >> reporter: police say it turned into a bizarre armed robbery when the driver returned to his car. >> the suspect emerged from the back seat pressed the weapon to the back of his head and told him to take me to this address. >> reporter: the driver did what he was told. and for five minutes with an armed stranger in the back seat, he drove to neighboring east hamptons. >> he was given directions, stop the car, let me out. and give me your money. >> reporter: the suspect vanished into the woods with $200 cash and the driver's wallet. and personal information. >> all dark clothing, a black hat. black hoodie. tied down around his face. >> that's scary that could happen to us here. somebody could come out here when i'm getting in my vehicle and somebody could be in my truck. >> reporter: police are canvassing stores to see if anyone fitting the description

was in that area. the suspect committed five crimes. now, police did reach out to the victim in this case, but he declined to be interviewed by us. in the meantime, we did interview the victim's good friend on what he does and what police recommend you do to stay safe for a delivery drivers in situations like this. we'll have that for you at 6:00. we're live in west hampton, nbc 10 news. the justice department and the fbi under investigation. >> it's all about how they handled hillary clinton and her e-mail server during the election. >> let's go right to nbc 10's jacqueline london in the breaking news center. >> part of the probe will look at whether fbi director james comey followed policies in the months leading up to the election. you'll recall comey held a news conference in july to reveal the bureau would not charge hillary clinton over her handling of

e-mails. and days before the election he sent a letter to lawmakers about new e-mails found on the laptop of anthony wiener, the husband of a top clinton aide. a top clinton campaign strategist told msnbc today that an investigation is appropriate. >> you believe you have an official whether it's a congressperson, district attorney or director of the fbi who has potentially abused his or her authority it ought to look into to even if the events are transpired and over with. >> the e-mails discovered on wiener's laptop were found to be unrelated to any clinton probe. from the breaking news center, jacqueline london, nbc 10 news. thank you. new at 5:00, new jersey lieutenant governor wants to be the garden state's next governor. she filed paper work to run in the republican primary. she's the first lieutenant governor, she's an attorney who served as a federal prosecutor

in new york and was monmouth county's sheriff for a time. the primary is june 6th. the pensbury school district in bucks county is stepping up security at bus stops. a man attempted to lure a child in his car. police say it happened tuesday morning. a man in a dark gray suv pulled up to a student and told him to get in. that student refused. and the man drove away. looking good. the crew at this car wash along route 13 in dover were busy today. the warm weather inspired a lot of folks to get their cars cleaned up. >> i got to do that. it was warm enough to break records today as well. let's get a look at your neighborhood forecast from first alert meteorologist erika martin. >> a great day to get the car washed. temperatures topped out at 67 in philadelphia. right now we're tracking temperatures in the mid 60s.

locally. note as i'm also tracking a temperature drop, the next couple of hours into tomorrow. certainly by the upcoming weekend. we see a trend here by 11:00 p.m. we'll stay in the sgifr 50s. temperatures above normal. 5:00 a.m. tomorrow we're seeing 50s and seeing the temperature decline by 11:00 a.m. 2:00 p.m. seeing 44 degrees and 5:00 p.m. seeing 39 degrees. so the story here is we're waiting for a frontal boundary to get here bringing us colder air and stronger north westerly winds which is why the temperatures will take a nose dive, dropping into the low thir30s by saturday. we'll talk more about this temperature decline and the potential for some snow and a wintry mix. back to you. it doesn't feel like winter today. it does feel like flu season. it's hitting some counties much harder than others. right now philadelphia is reporting about 150 cases. but in much smaller berks

county, there are more than 500 cases. nbc 10's randy gyllenhaal shows us how patients are fighting off the flu. >> reporter: at the west reading drugstore, berks county reporting widespread flu. more cases than nearly every other place in pennsylvania. >> it seems surprising berks county in the whole state. >> i still have the cough and fluid. >> reporter: customers say it's obvious friends and family coughing up a lung, calling out of work. >> there's been two with pneumonia, because they didn't realize they had bronchitis. >> reporter: if you've made it this far without getting sick now is the time to get the flu shot you've been avoiding. nbc 10 inside reading hospital, a quick prick on the arm, and within two weeks i should be

fully immune. >> we recommend everyone should. especially the elderly. >> we're seeing a lot of people with influenza like illness. >> reporter: the doctor is tracking the spike seeing so many cases they might open a dedicated flu clinic. he said this is mostly preventible if more people would get the vaccine. >> in some communities, where a very large majority of the population has been vaccinated they have herd immunity. meaning the flu almost passes them over. >> reporter: as families ride out the influx of influenza, young families on the front line of flu season. >> i make sure they wash their hands. biggest part. if they're sneezing or coughing i like them to cover up. >> reporter: doctors tell me most cases can be solve would patience and a lot of over the counter medications. more severe cases should consult their doctor. randy gyllenhaal nbc 10 news. an escaped convict is back

in custody after getting caught during a traffic stop. police pulled over a car on washington avenue tuesday. one of the women inside was a 39-year-old elizabeth singh. she was wanted from cape may. new jersey lawmakers are using the deaths of a 6-year-old girl. they want to create a task force in safety in school transportation. to make students safer. the idea got the okay from the state education committee today. and now moves to the full senate. need to speak to someone about your unemployment benefits in pennsylvania? be prepared to wait for hours. there is one phone, one at the career link in norris town and the line to use it is long. problem is, it's the only direct connection to a representative helping initiate or restore unemployment benefits. half of call center employees

have been laid off. it's all because the senate did not vote on a bill that would restore funding to the department of labor. >> life altering. you know, people are here waiting for money. this is survival money. it's not like a check is coming from somewhere else. >> the average wait time in norris town is four to five hours. career link centers across the state are facing the same problem. delaware's out going governor has a proposal he says will balance the state's budget. he wants to implement $212 million in tax increases. he also suggests cutting state agency programs by $56 million. under the plan, smokers would pay another dollar per pack in taxes. incoming governor, john corny will likely revise the proposal. the wilmington woman who launched a beloved sandwich shop has passed away. she opened the first store in

1976. the name was in honor of her grandfather. she is credited with creating the bobby, a thanksgiving on a roll sandwich that would come to define the chain. the chain includes more than 100 locations in 18 states and washington, d.c. where a certain someone sings its praises. >> this should end the debate about where the best sandwich comes from. this originated on union state. i've been eating these subs. >> not biassed at all. the vice president was one of the first customers when the first store was opened in washington in 2013. nbc 10's tim furlong is in wilmington. his story is ahead at 6:00. joe biden had quite an

afternoon after the president surprised him with this announcement. >> i am pleased to award our nation's highest civilian honor. the presidential medal of freedom. [ applause ] >> we will hear from the vice president after he received this special honor. just scream out call the cops, call the cops. >> before the cops could get there this homeowner took things into his own hands. how he won the break in battle ahead at nbc 10 news at 5:00.

you watched an amazing moment live right here on nbc 10 news at 4:00. >> president barack obama awarding vice president joe biden the presidential medal of freedom. a teary eyed biden accepted the medal. the highest civilian honor. biden spoke about his family, his two sons beau and hunter and his wife, jill. >> everybody knows here i am jill's husband. everybody knows that i love her more than she loves me. with good reason. >> today's honor was a total surprise to the vice president. earlier today, the vp sat down

with nbc'sa andrea mitchell. >> she asked him about president elect trump's tweets comparing the intelligence community to the nazis. >> it plays into his hands. it hurts our intelligence community. a lot of people, you know, are risking their lives. they're not just sitting behind a computer. they're risking their lives. to get information. that is essential for our physical security. >> more from vice president biden's interview tonight on nbc nightly news at 6:30. to the transition to trump, a busy day on capitol hill today. three of president elect donald trump's cabinet picks had confirmation hearings. cia director nominee michael pompeiio defense secretary general james mattis.

and ben carson. u.s. senator tom carper from delaware had a news conference to speak out against the nomination of scott pruitt to head the epa. al carper says pruitt is a threat to clean air rules. a group of philadelphia mothers from moms clean air force were there too to weigh in. >> i can't believe that somebody who questions the science of whether mercury pollution harms pregnant women unborn babies and growing children would be put in charge of protecting our basic american rights to breathe clean air and drink clean water. >> senate republicans support pruitt arguing the epa has restepped its bounds in recent years. new jersey lawmakers are trying to stop the resale of those free inauguration tickets. the congressman sent a letter to the committee overseeing the

ceremony. he said the tickets that were given away for free are showing up with higher prices. he is asking the committee to stop the websites from selling them. new at 5:00 a south jersey military base will be the home of a new fleet of air force refuelling tankers. the base will receive two new tankers, seen here, to replace its current fleet. congressman chris smith says the new plan will spare the base from future plans to shut it down. dover air force base was among the finalist to receive the new tankers but was not chosen. a famous home and new castle delaware is getting a national historic landmark title. the house belonged to george read ii. he served as u.s. district of attorney for 30 years. his father was among those who signed both the declaration of independence and the constitution. the home becomes delaware's 14th national historic landmark.

that brings us to a sword that belonged to a revolutionary war hero, now on display at a museum in old city. the sword of general hugh mercer was presented to the museum. today marks the 240th anniversary of mercer's death. the sword will be on display when it opens to the public. mercer might sound familiar because mercer county, new jersey was named after general mercer. take a look at this scene. look at that. atlantic county lots of sun along with lots of wind. >> the sun brought us much, much, much warmer temperatures. i can't say it enough. it's so much warmer out there than it has been. the temperatures won't stick around, though. like all things, let's get right to first alert neighborhood forecast with meteorologist erika martin. what gives? >> it won't be like this much longer. the weather story includes a warm and dry evening in the

forecast. conditions will be windy. a mild night nonetheless. certainly something to look forward to. temperatures overnight will be above normal. a warmer start for your friday. a chillier afternoon. i'll time that out for you hour by hour. by the weekend, a major temperature drop by about 30 degrees from today, we're also tracking snow and possibly a wintry mix. a live look outside. you can see the wind blowing wildly right now with the flag. kind of blowing around. and current wind profile, notice we're seeing 18 mile per hour wind speeds in wilmington. philadelphia, 14 miles per hour. dover 24 and six mile per hour wind speeds in millville. one of the stories right now would be the temperatures, really mild, warm for today. above normal. the normal high in philadelphia is 40. today's high 67. the record high 72. we didn't make it there but we certainly enjoyed 67. currently in philadelphia, 65. >> allentown 64.

mount holly 66 and vineland currently at 63 degrees. currently neighborhood forecast in and around philadelphia seeing mainly 60s. west mount airy 64. center city, 65 degrees. port richmond 62. fox chase 67 and bustleton 66 is your temperature. jersey shore seeing comfortable conditions. may's landing at 62. and atlantic city currently at 51 degrees. summer's point a little cooler at 50. your hour by hour forecast mainly seeing 50s and 60s. as we get it going through tomorrow and into tomorrow. pauses at 8:00 p.m. we're seeing the southerly and southwesterly flow which is why we do have the warmer weair in place. you can see the temperature gradient, the blues into the yellows showing colder air as

the cold front dips down. 2:00 a.m. we're seeing a decline in temperatures. tomorrow afternoon, 4:00 p.m., seeing lots of 30s and 41 for philly. it's only going to get chillier from there as the colder air slides into place. doppler radar right now, there's not much going on. right now, we did see passing showers earlier this afternoon. really, nothing right now. hour by hour forecast as we get this going at least through the weekend we'll show you the possibility of some snowshowers and possibly a wintry mix making it here by saturday. of course, totals, really not consistent right now. we'll keep you updated on that. otherwise you can start to see blues and whites there. denoting we do have some snow on the way. your ten day on 10. we have temperatures that will decline into the 40s by tomorrow. 30s on saturday. tracking the snow and the wintry mix. we warm up by monday, tuesday and wednesday. al martin luther king day, we're seeing mainly 40s. a good possibility for rain showers on wednesday and thursday. be sure you follow us on social

media for more updates. back to you. i'm going to take it from here. sky force 10 is live over breaking news in south philadelphia. an accident involving that police cruiser. if we could zoom out, this is happening at 20th and federal streets. a police vehicle collided with another car. we presume that one is the black vehicle next to it. we do know at this point two officers have been hurt. we also know they're expected to be okay. moving on, there's a lot of stress and excitement when you move into a new home. imagine that home is mortgage free. coming up, all new at 5:00, we'll meet the lucky couple getting a big break on their monthly bills. plus, a lot of people talk about the benefits of medical american. next a new report that's revealing some drawbacks to the drug.

tragedy in baltimore this afternoon. investigators recover the bodies of all six children killed in a early morning house fire. home video taken at that scene shows flames pouring from the house. along with the six children who died three others escaped with serious injuries. their mother survived as well. the nine kids range in age from eight months old to 11 years old.

hours later smoke was billowing from the charred home. from above we see heavy equipment on the scene removing debris. firefighters can't get inside to search for the cause of the fire before the debris is removed. an update on the case of two men and a woman from pennsylvania accused of trying to drive into new york city with a cachet of weapons in their truck. a judge today said he will rule in a month on whether to dismiss the charges against the suspects. the defense argues they were illegally arrested based on a bias against the gun rights stickers that were placed all over their truck. the men were stopped at the entrance of the holland tunnel in june. police say the vehicle had a cracked windshield. marijuana use can potentially increase the risk of severe mental illness according to a new report released late this afternoon. a team of experts appointed by the national academies of science engineering and medicine reviewed every piece of research published on marijuana since

1999. they found that cannabis is effective for treating muscle spasms and multiple sclerosis. it also has dangers, including a higher risk of developing schizophrenia and depression. >> like a lot of science, it's very nuanced. >> the number of states legalizing recreational marijuana use doubled last year from four to eight. 26 states and the district of columbia have legalized it for medical purposes. to a remarkable young woman. she won medals in four pa paralimpic games. what did this homeowner do next? how he stop adburglar from getting away even after he was

stabbed. p burglar from getting away even after he was stabbed. e burglar from getting away even after he was stabbed. d burglar from getting away even after he was stabbed.

looks like we're still a man short. not anymore. gus! the second most famous groundhog in pennsylvania. let's hit the ice. whoaaa! take the shot! (buzzer)

that shot was one in a million. so's this. all the money millionaire edition, new from the pennsylvania lottery. with five top prizes of a million bucks. it's a real game changer. (giggles) keep on scratchin' when a thief breaks into his home, a cumberland county man didn't wait for police to arrive. he took matters into his own two hands. >> ted greenberg shows us how he won the break in battle even after he was stabbed. >> basically i wasn't going to let him go until cops showed up.

>> reporter: with strength and will power. 26-year-old nico gonzalez says he made sure the burglar he caught inside his vineland home. >> i see him at that door. >> reporter: could not get away. even after the intruder stabbed him in the back, arm and hand. >> he started scuffling. >> reporter: the ordeal unfolded around 6:00 tuesday evening. soon after, gonzalez got an alert that his burglar alarm was going off. gonzalez says while holding the intrude urdown in the backyard he manage today use one hand to get his wife on the phone. to have her call police. >> told me he was going to stab me. >> reporter: the suspect knifed him as the two continued to struggle. >> i was able to pen him up and walk him kbooalong the fence li. i had him here pushing my body up against him. my father-in-law in came and was able to help me keep him detained and that's when the cops showed up. >> reporter: it wasn't until

then he realized he was wounded. >> i didn't feel anything until after i let him go and after my adrenaline was pumping down. >> i can't believe he did that. i feel safer now knowing he can handle a situation like that. at the same time, it's scary. >> reporter: gonzalez spent the night in the hospital. the suspect went to jail. >> i have no words for him. i worked hard throughout my whole life to get what i have. >> reporter: ted greenberg nbc 10 news. remembering grace, monday friends and family will attend a memorial service for a 14-year-old grace packer. the public is invited to pay respects and share memories of the 14-year-old who police say was abused and killed. there will also be a community forum where social workers will talk about the signs of child abuse. packers' adoptive mother is charged with the teen's death. the mother's boyfriend was also charged. they're accused of murdering

grace and dismembering and dumping her body. the water is back on for 50 homeowners in philadelpha phila neighborhood. you see the whole there. it happened around 10:00 this morning. the main was fixed. the water back on by about 3:45 this afternoon. the street still has to be repaired. the allentown school board is set to name a new superintendents at a special board meeting tonight. the chief will serve a term of three to five years beginning in july. tonight, the board will consider a proposal to buy a plot of land that could be used to build a new school. the morning call reports the property would cost a little more than a million dollars. the majority of the district's buildings were built before 1960. teachers from the uptown district are working without a contract. an agreement was brought to teacher and faculty last night and they rejected the proposal. members haven't had a contact since the last one expired in 2013. the next round of negotiations

should start tomorrow. the pennsylvania state police is no longer subjecting potential recruits to lie detector tests. state police say applicants were taking jobs else where because it added too much time to the progress. the union argued it helped the recruits have the highest integrity. you have a new police department. the southern chester county regional police department has been in the works now for more than two years. tonight at 7:00, there is a special ceremony to swear in those officers. it's full speed ahead for plans to build a new transit center at wilmington's amtrak station. they are finalizing a deal to build a transit center next to the station. it would provide a one stop connection to bus and taxies and septa and amtrak trains. a half hour, montgomery county is inviting residents to

talk about a new trail. the planning commission will hold a public meeting from 6:00 until 8:00. they want to see if it's possible to build a public trail. we want to tell you about a partial victory for new jersey governor chris christie in the brid bridgegate scandal. a judge overturned finding against christie. she denied the attempt to dismiss the complaint. the complaint was filed by a citizen. he claims christie violated the law by not reopening the lanes of the bridge. it was a financial burden for millions of families. one store is offering an alternative to the sky rocketing cost of epipens.

tonight the justice department's inspector general says he'll take a closer look at the handling of the hillary clinton e-mail investigation. that will include a investigation into the actions of both the department of justice and the fbi. >> reporter: democrats have been charging that fbi director james comey might have cost hillary clinton the election. giving the win to donald trump. by ending the investigation of clinton's e-mails with an unprecedented public condemnation. >> they were extremely careless. >> then revealing the investigation was reopening two weeks before election day. democrats applaud the justice department probing comey. >> he was afraid the fbi office in new york would leak the information if he didn't say it publicly. >> reporter: meanwhile, donald trump's team. >> you are fake news. >> reporter: is still asking

accusing questions of the cia. >> why intelligence officials or other people are leaking to the media. >> reporter: even though director of national intelligence, james clapper called trump to deny his people leaked the unverified report. that vladmir putin might have something on trump. mi mike pompeiio testified today. >> i would expect the president elect would demand of that. >> reporter: and james mattis testified work ing with russia is less likely. >> there's decreasing number of areas we can engage cooperatively and an increasing number of areas where we're going to have to confront russia. >> reporter: mattis throwing cold water on donald trump's boast he can work with putin. the president elect tapped rudy guiliani who runs a security firm to advise him on fighting hacking, including russian hacking. fbi director james comey came up

here to brief congress on today. i'm steve handlesman. pennsylvania senator bob casey is making a push to provide businesswise moes with reasons to invest in promise zones. to funnel resources into those areas. camden and west philadelphia are among them. casey unveiled legislation that would give new tax credits for businesses that set up shop in promise zones. switching gears, they say laughter is the best medicine. but this group might disagree. next at 5:00, the benefits of a little pet therapy. and i'm tracking a major cooldown. temperatures for today were in the mid to upper 60s in and around philadelphia. we're seeing a cool down by friday into saturday and i'm tracking snow possibly, a wintry mix in the full forecast. coming up new at 6:00, are grocery store prices -- grocery

stores price gouging over the new tax. the allegations and how stores are firing back.

internet gambling is helping atlantic city's casinos post their first revenue increase in a decade. casino winnings are up by 1.5%. the last time there was an increase was in 2006 before all those casinos shut down. cvs sharing a junarric version of the epipen. a two pack of the brand-new

epipen can cost more than $600. congress grilled the company that makes epipen because of the soaring cost. the pens are used to stop potentially deadly allergic reactions. we'll have more on this story and the impact on donald trump's recent attacks on drugmakers for price hikes at nbc nightly news. the new lawsuit claims state prisons in new jersey are failing teen-age inmates. it claims some teens get no education whatsoever by behind bars. the department of corrections is not commenting on the suit. more than 30 high schoolers from mercer career and technical high school have a little taste of the real world. they stepped out of the classroom to make business pitches at philadelphia university. representatives from if i sphizd penn charter were there to hear these proposals. some call her the fastest woman on three wheels.

>> tatiana mcfadden is a 16 time paralympic winner. she holds records in boston, chicago, new york and london marathons. today she returned to a place where she spent a lot of time as a child, sidelihriner's hospita philadelphia. she inspired her story with others. she spent the first six years of her life in a russian orphanage before she was adopted and brought to america. look at her, she's breaking records. >> amazing looking at the video to see what she's been capable of. talk about another special visitor for a senior community in northeast philadelphia. enhanced living on oxford avenue, residents experienced pet therapy. caring paws brought over a number of animals including dogs, ginny pigs, rabbits, the interaction helps seniors sharpen their auditory and

muscular skills. an opportunity this weekend for folks who want to add another member to the family. this is paris. she is a terrier mix. and she was on nbc 10 news at 11:00. this morning. she and her brother, prince, are both up for adoption. and you can meet them and other animals available for adoption this saturday from 12:00 to 3:00 at thephiladelphia. frying fish craft house, a restaurant located inside the building will have refreshments and snacks. for more details go to our website or check out the nbc 10 app. a zoo in cumberland county is welcoming new residents. three month old bengal tiger brothers. they are the zoo's first tigers since the last of the zoo's white tigers passed away in 2015. they're adorable now. >> so cute.

today's warmer temperatures, it was the perfect day to spend a leisure afternoon in the park. look at that nbc 10 in montgomery county where the kids enjoyed a day outside. if you didn't get outside today. i hope you did. you may have missed your chance. >> first alert meteorologist erika martin is here with the great news. she's going to tell us when it will get cold and possibly there's going to be snow? >> that's right. we do have a change on the approach. we're tracking all these changes here. right now we're enjoying the mild conditions. temperatures for today topped out above average. 67 degrees. a live look outside. it's dry right now. we did see some light passing showers across philadelphia earlier today. everything right now is dry. if you look at the bottom of your screen you'll see your local neighborhood forecast. weather stories include unseasonably warm evening on tap. it will be a little windy. i'll show you our wind profile. temperatures take a downward turn because we'll see temperatures warmer to start the day and colder by the end of the

day. now, for this weekend, a major temperature drop. about 30 degree difference between today and saturday. and it looks like we are tracking some snow and possibly a wintry mix. winds coming out of the southwest. philadelphia 14 miles per hour wind speeds for you. 18 for wilmington and 24 miles per hour wind speeds in dover. really strong and really gusty. current temperatures right now for allentown 57, trenton 64. 66 for mount holly. coatesville currently at 61. philadelphia at 65. we topped out at 67. the normal high is 40. the record high 72 degrees. we will take that 67 degrees. and your neighborhood forecast. pa suburbs seeing lots of 50s and 60s. so still really comfortable. collegeville, 63. along with elroy, bedminister, 61. new hope currently at 64. take a look at what to expect

around jersey. we're seeing a mainly 60s. mid 60s. voorhies at 65. coy field 63. that's the trend here, robinville, 66 and princeton at 62. again, really mild conditions. so the temperature trend for the next couple of days, we're going to see 40s by tomorrow. 30s on saturday. barely above the freezing mark. and then we go into the 40s by sunday. doppler radar right now there's not much going on. some light sprinkles moving through parts of the lehigh valley, berks county. otherwise right now it's pretty much dry. hour by hour forecast, picking up on those light showers, moving through parts of lehigh valley. again, locally we're not seeing much going on. tomorrow morning, we'll see mostly clear skies, mostly clear start to your friday. temperatures, again, will start to decline into the 30s by later tomorrow. after that, we're tracking some snow and possibly a wintry mix.

hour by hour forecast, pausing this at 12:30 p.m. on saturday. we start to see the introduction of some snow and a wintry mix here. you can see the blues and purples and the whites showing us that wintry-type weather. it looked like we could see a mix and everything clears later saturday into sunday. your ten day on 10 brings us cooler temperatures by tomorrow. overnight lows for tonight in the 40s above normal. 42 is your expected high for tomorrow. tracking possibly that wintry mix and that light snow on saturday. it looks like it will start to warm up by mlk day. monday. partly to mostly cloudy skies. 56 on tuesday and tracking some possible rain showers wednesday into thursday. back to you. thank you. to a truly tragic story out of baltimore. six children are dead after an early morning house fire. >> it has been a day of heart break as firefighters search for the bodies of the young victims.

>> reporter: a tarp to shield from public view, the gruesome task baltimore firefighters have thursday sifting through charred debris, searching for remains of six children who died in a house fire so big, neighbors wanting to help were kept at bay. >> you see how big that house is, that's how big that fire was. it was everywhere. it was coming from everywhere. >> i felt helpless. real bad. because i couldn't do nothing. >> reporter: there were nine children and their mother inside. when the fire broke out shortly after midnight. and the death toll would have been higher, were it not for one sibling saving two others. >> the 8-year-old female actually assisted in bringing the 5 and 4-year-old out along with the mother. >> reporter: after firefighters arrived the house began collapsing. the father was at work at the time. and has told investigators he had just changed the batteries on the smoke detector and can't say where or why the fire

started. >> any loss is painful. but the loss of children pains you even more deeply. we know these are young. >> reporter: the victims ages range from nine months to just 11 years old. nbc news. that is a devastating story right there. next all new at 5:00, paying it forward. >> why this couple is moving into a south jersey home mortgage free.

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call today. comcast business. built for business. [ it'[ goat bleat ] by peggy lee playing ] [ crow caws, music continues ] this is gonna be awesome! when it comes to buying a house... trulia knows the house is only half of it. and with 34 map overlays like playgrounds, demographics, schools, and more... you can find the right house

and the right neighborhood for you. trulia. the house is only half of it. welcome back. lester holt joins us from the nbc studios in new york. >> he has a look at what's coming up on nbc nightly news. hi, lester. >> we'll have details of the surprise probe announced today in how the fbi handled the hillary clinton e-mail investigation, including the public statements made by the fbi director himself. vice president biden speaks about u.s. intelligence. in the face of the rising cost of epipens, something we've told you a lot about on this broadcast. a major pharmacy offers a cheaper alternative. we'll show you and tell you more about that when we see you coming up at 6:30. >> we'll see you then. on to a camden county

veteran and his wife who say they are thankful for finally having a place to call their own. >> this is an amazing story. they received the keys to their new mortgage-free house today. as you can see u.s. air force staff sergeant eric and his wife sheryl were elated seeing their home for the first time today. it's thank today operation homefront which has awarded more than 800 homes to members of the military. >> as you can see i don't know what to say at this point in time. so, yeah, it's really overwhelming. we're very happy. >> good for them. it comes complete with three bedrooms, new carpet flooring appliances and a big back yard for their dog. >> and no more mortgage. awesome. >> unbelievable. nbc 10 news at 6:00 is next. here is jim rosen field and jacqueline london.

>> coming up, food merchants saying the mayor is launching an outrageous attack. >> the mayor's explanation for why he thinks stores are price gouging over the new soda tax. she's a delaware food game changer responsible for one of vice president joe biden's favorite sandwiches. wilmington is remembering the founder of the famous sandwich shop, cap reoughties. thousands of pennsylvania whose are out of a job. state lawmakers and their holiday plans may be to blame. we have record warmth today in some places, a snow chance this weekend. i'm timing out those dramatic changes in my first alert neighborhood forecast.

right now at 6:00, jobless and frustrated. thousands of pennsylvanians can't get the unemployment benefits they need. a armed stronger holds a delivery driver at gun pont as they drive through three points. the accusations the mayor is throwing tonight and how stores are firing back. right now at 6:00, thousands of people in pennsylvania struggling to get jobs say they can't get their benefits and it's all about state lawmakers they say didn't finish their

work. good evening i'm jim rosenfield. >> first up at 6:00. lawmakers went on break without passing funding. >> aundrea cline-thomas speaks with people hurting because of it. >> reporter: being unemployed is hard enough. now the right at the career link at norris town. >> it's ridiculous if you ask me. >> reporter: eventually wears on anyone's patience. >> it's a pain. pain. we've been sitting, me and this lady have been sitting here for almost four hours. >> reporter: a four to five hour late is standard in recent weeks to use one phone. >> this is our dedicated line here. >> reporter: it's the direct line to a representative who can insure the unemployed receive their benefits. >> we have no option. you can't call from home because the phone is just going to get a busy signal. >> reporter: more than 300 of the state's call center employees that would normally be

on the other end of the line have been laid off because state senators did not vote on a bill before the holiday break that would continue funding. >> we're feeling the stress. hopefully it tends soon. i can't guarantee that. >> reporter: stress is a shared feeling here. >> this is survival. it's not like a check is coming from somewhere else. >> reporter: because the government stalemate does not change the bills being due. >> this is what we have because of the bureaucratic reasons. everything day you come you're going to look at the same thing. five, six hours. >> reporter: nbc 10 news. and lawmakers on both sides are pointing fingers. it could take weeks before a compromise is reached. developing tonight in the past hour fbi director james comey responded to a new investigation into how he handled hillary clinton's e-mail investigation. democrats have blamed his handling of the investigation as a reason for her loss to donald trump. the inspector